Mixtapemotions

  • “Killer” by Chvrches, Monday, September 26, 2022

     

    Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches formed in 2011 after friends and fellow bandmates of the alternative rock band Aerogramme 

    Iain Cook and Martin Doherty left the band because they wanted to make a different kind of music and Aerogramme wasn’t successful. Joining with vocalist Lauren Mayberry, the band’s lineup was set. The band decided on the name Churches, not because the band was religious, but because the connotation of the band’s name allowed listeners to make the band’s music about what came to their own minds. The band decided to spell their name with a v instead of a u to help listeners search for the band more easily. 

    IN THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Chvrches’ fourth studio record, Screen Violence was released last year. The Glasgow-based band’s latest record was lyrically inspired by lead singer Lauren Mayberry carving out a space for women in music and online in a digital world that is weeded with violent pornography and hatred towards women. Mayberry said that the cover of the record also alluded to the voyeuristic nature of the day, particularly with the world moving more and more to join the virtual world. To illustrate the horror of this reality, the band was inspired by horror films, incorporating the imagery from those films into their lyrics. But unlike a band like Ice Nine Kills, whose entire discography is based on horror films, Chvrches’ lyrics are accessible to those who don’t want to slog through the band’s influences to enjoy their music or get their concept. Mayberry said in an interview, they toned back the horror references for fans who didn’t particularly care for horror. As for musical influences, the band procured a feature from goth-rock legend, Robert Smith of The Cure, singing on the band’s single “How Not to Drown.”  

    ARE YOU ENTERTAINED? After releasing Screen Violence, Chvrches announced a deluxe edition titled Screen Violence: The Director’s Cut, continuing the band’s theme of a horror film. The three additional songs The Director’s Cut adds to the album lengthen an already near-perfect record and the band’s release of the deluxe edition coincided with Halloween. “Killer” is the first of those three bonus tracks. The lyrics examine how a person loses her mental stability and ultimately becomes something she never thought she could become. The dark synth-pop track has a melody that is reminiscent of Anberlin‘s “I’d Like to Die,” though I think that the similarity is coincidental. “Killer” is one of the more explicitly horror-film-inspired tracks on Screen Violence, and somehow it evokes the images of an old episode of Unsolved Mysteries. So as spooky season is upon us and as the days grow shorter, while it may not be true at all, unsolved murders always seem to scare me a little bit more in the fall. Maybe it’s the dying leaves, maybe it’s because fall was hunting season in central New York and there were strange men wandering around our woods, maybe it was because somehow I watched more scary programs in the fall because of the proximity to Halloween. Either way, “Killer” will probably find its way on 2022’s horror playlist when I make one next month.

  • “Talking to Yourself” by Carly Rae Jepsen, Sunday, September 25, 2022

    We’ve been waiting for a new full-length record from the teen pop queen Carly Rae Jepsen since 2019’s Dedicated or 2020’s Dedicated Side B if you consider a b-sides record a canonical release. Coming on October 21st is The Loneliest Time, Carly Rae Jepsen’s fifth studio record. “Talking to Yourself” is the third single from the record, following the light, breezy “Western Wind” and the comedically catchy late-summer hit “Beach House.” 

    YOU WERE NEVER JUST MISERABLE. In 2022, Carly Rae Jepsen released the funny holiday single, “It’s Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries,” talking about the mixed bag that being around the ones you love brings. It seems that The Loneliest Time builds on that 2020 single’s theme. Given Jepsen’s release date leading up to the holiday season and the album artwork featuring what looks like harvest decorations, the album seems at least partially referring to compounding feelings of loneliness from wanting to meet the one and being single around friends and family members who are in committed relationships unwittingly or not flaunt their status. It’s the subject of Hallmark movies and memes, and now what looks like a record that’s vying a high placement on my album of the year list. All Carly Rae Jepsen records have shown maturity, starting with schoolyard crushes (“Call Me Maybe”) to somewhat adolescent sexual fantasies (“Want You in My Room”) to songs that mention sexual trysts but not in explicit terms (“LA Hallucinations” and “Fake Mona Lisa”).  The Loneliest Time deals with being single in her thirties. “Talking to Yourself” is a song about being with someone who is more in love with himself or somebody else, treating the speaker like a third wheel in the relationship.

    DON’T IT HIT YOU SUBLIMINAL? “Talking to Yourself” doesn’t list all the ways the speaker was hurt by multiple immature guys like in “Beach House,” but both songs show a portrait of the same maybe girl who was left waiting by the phone for a guy who never called. The same story continues to play out year after year and that’s the state of The Loneliest Time—a state of unfulfilling sexual relationships and romantic fantasies in which neither partner is on the same page. Isn’t that the nine-season plot of How I Met Your Mother? When I met my boyfriend, his best friend Rae had been in a relationship for over two years. But over time the love grew to tolerance, and in 2020, they broke up. When we met up in June together, Rae was telling us how hard dating in his 30s is, always second-guessing each other’s intentions. Always meeting up with guys who want something different, something just casual or just fun. It’s a lonely story and I’m glad only to have secondhand knowledge of it. But when I listen to Carly Rae Jepsen’s latest songs, I think about compounding that lonely feeling of being attractive, being famous, and having guys coming up to you asking to “borrow $10,000.” 

     Read the lyrics on Genius.

  • "good wife" by Kacey Musgraves, Saturday, September 24, 2022

    In 2019, Kacey Musgraves won the Album of the Year Grammy for her pop-country crossover record, Golden Hour. Before accepting her Grammy, she kisses her husband of almost two years, fellow country singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly, and makes her way to the stage in hugging presenter, the actress Nina Dobreva. Both the singer and the actress are clad in red, but Musgraves flourished dress presents the country turned pop star as potential for bigger red-carpet moments. Music’s biggest night has recognized Musgraves for her accomplishments. It’s all sunshine and ponies from here on out and a Pop-Country career filled with love, “Butterflies” and “Rainbows.” But the pandemic took different tolls on everyone.


    GOD, HELP ME BE A GOOD WIFE. Musgraves in interviews talks about how it was the pandemic that made her realize that her marriage was over. Musgraves said, “I could have coasted through another couple of years, just not paying attention to my feelings or not really dealing with some things.” But turning to psilocybin therapy, a kind hallucinogenic mushroom, Musgraves processed her divorce and what she wants in life and love. And from that processing came her 2021 fourth record, star-crossed. Taking its name from the Prologue of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed in a way takes inspiration from the ancient Greek tragedies in which lovers are fated to make each other miserable. In Romeo and Juliet the term “star-crossed” refers to the ill-fated protagonists who fall in love despite their feuding families. Shakespeare uses “star-crossed” to show that it was inevitable that the two fell in love, and it was inevitable that the aversion to that relationship would be their undoing. Like Musgraves, many people think that marriage will somehow complete the incomplete, but they wake up to find that they were deadass wrong. Years down the road in an unhappy marriage, you find out he’s been opening up all along to some courtesan. Best be getting yourself to the local magistrate.  

    I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE. On Golden Hour, despite being Musgraves’ love album, the singer deals with loneliness when life is busy and her partner can’t make time to be there for her in the second song “Lonely Weekend.” She hopes he’ll cut his hours back and spend more time with her. “good wife” is the second track on the star-crossed, and the song seems to be related thematically to “Lonely Weekend.” While the song may make some of us think about the CBS drama about a wife and mother who “stands by her man” when scandal rocks the family, re-entering the work force as a lawyer, the song bears little resemblance to the show. And yet, as Alicia Florrick rebuilds her life, becoming her own person outside of her relationship with her unfaithful husband, we might start to see why Musgraves named this track “good wife.” If the song were to stand alone without the context of the record, “good wife” sounds similar to Tammy Wynette‘s 1968 classic country song, “Stand by Your Man.” Wynette’s twangy classic was adamantly hated by feminists. Future first lady Hillary Clinton even snidely referenced the Wynette’s song in a 60 Minutes interview when questioned about Bill’s alleged infidelity. Hillary Clinton quickly issued an apology after Wynette stated offense. It makes sense that Musgraves would both pay homage to country’s past patriarchy while subtly undermining it; modernizing the country genre has always been Musgraves’ goal. On star-crossed Musgraves adds divorce to her list of white-evangelical-influenced genre of Country music she hopes to destigmatize, and in Shakespearean terms, fie those who say that you should just stick it out!

    From star-crossed film:

  • “You Have My Attention” by Copeland, Friday, September 23, 2022 (partial repost)

     

    Last Saturday, Copeland performed a concert at The Caverns, an underground concert venue in Grundy County, Tennessee. The band was accompanied by The Sewanee Symphony Orchestra in order to promote Copeland’s latest record, Revolving Doors,  a sort of greatest hits project reimagining some of Copeland’s standout tracks from their six studio records and one of their EPs complete with orchestration. The band livestreamed the concert and played most of the songs on Revolving Doors and a few extras. Today’s song, “You Have My Attention” is the closing track on Revolving Doors. From Counting Crows and ’90s rock played before their set and from their inclusion of the most tracks from their most rock record In Motion, it seems that Copeland looks back fondly on their days as a rock band. Today, I felt more in the mood for the original track, so I include it in my playlist. But I’ll also post the Revolving Doors version.

    JUST DO YOUR BEST TO HEAR ME. On Labeled‘s first season (reposted in Toby Morrell‘s Break It Down Podcast), Aaron Marsh talked about the history of their first album, Beneath Medicine Tree. The Copeland singer claimed that there were no Christian Copeland songs; however, songs on Copeland albums that sound like they speak about faith are inspired by his grandmother. This month we return to Copeland’s second record, In Motion, an album that is perhaps Copeland’s most Christian-sounding record. “You Have My Attention” is a very spiritual song. It uses Christian terminology to build the central metaphor. Whether the relationship is with God, Marsh’s grandmother, or an idea who “has [his] attention like a shout through an empty sanctuary” yet “speak[s] but a whisper,” “You Have My Attention” is a powerful song about a muse or a force that blesses the speaker. A holy spirit or the Holy Spirit carries this tune, grabbing the listener’s attention when the hectic afternoon lets up for just a moment.

    YOUR VOICE SOUNDS MILES AWAY. If you say that God talks with an audible voice, people will dismiss you as crazy. “What are the voices telling you now?” They might ask. The Quakers teach that everyone has a conscience, and it is through the conscience that believers can have a direct experience with God. Adventists teach young children that their conscience is the Holy Spirit, and that they should always listen to their conscience. If they don’t listen to that still, small voice, it will go away. As we get older, we learn that if the conscience goes away, it’s the unpardonable sin, or grieving the Holy Spirit. When you’re little it’s all about listening to your parents. When you’re a teenager it’s all about not doing certain things. Don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t play video games with lots of blood, don’t watch that movie, don’t listen to that music, don’t look at those websites. To live one’s life in prayer was the alternative. If a person was born again, he or she would receive the Holy Spirit and begin a personal relationship with God. This relationship has teenagers in their quiet times when they weren’t feeling guilty about all the bad things they did, talking to God and thinking about him. It was a metaphysical friendship, like an experience with a friend you can talk to all the time, who is always there, yet who oddly has a very similar personality to you, or at least, a personality of you at your ideal state. This friend would also sound like a pastor, a Bible school teacher, and your own interpretation of what is wrong. 

    In Motion Version:

    Revolving Doors version: 

    Acoustic:

  • "Die Young" by Sylvan Esso, Thursday, September 22, 2022 (Updated Repost)

    Sylvan Esso is an electronic duet composed of vocalist Amelia Meath and electronic programmer/producer Nick Sanborn formed in Durham, North Carolina. The group had some success on the radio and album charts and even garnered a Grammy nomination, but their genre-bending sound of pop, rock, dance, and adult alternative has mostly gone under-appreciated. Like Oh Wonder, Meath and Sanborn are a couple, and they married in 2016. “Die Young” comes from the band’s sophomore album. The standout feature of the track is Meath’s vocals, sometimes sounding old fashioned, but the synths remind the listener that this is a modern sound. It’s a modern romance between two characters who met by chance and gave meaning to each other’s life. 

    I HAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT BEFORE YOU MET ME. On Genius, listeners debate if Meath is talking about suicide or living recklessly. Some may argue that living recklessly with various substances was equal to suicide. However, thinking about this debate took me back to a classroom in Mission College, listening to a literature lecture. Dr. (Let’s use the name of the song today) Esso was the chair of the English department at Mission College. He was a tall man with an intimidating stare. Every time he looked at you, he was looking for you to say the answer he wanted to hear. If you didn’t give it to him, he would look to turn your answer into the answer he wanted. His lectures usually contain lot of Biblical counterpoint arguments against the text. His approach to literature was from suspicion, not from a position of learning what it can teach us. His 50 years of building an apologetical wall, guarding himself and the students he hoped to safeguard as well against the nearly 4000 years of secular literature, culminated in our classroom as we studied the Romantics and the Victorians. I think it was in his lecture on Kipling where Dr. Esso asked the class: “What do you think is God’s will for your life? Most people would say to get married, have a family, and get a job. But what if following God means going to India and starving, serving the people there?”

    I WAS GONNA DIE YOUNG. NOW I GOTTA WAIT FOR YOU, HONEY. I kept that question in mind as I had applied to be a “missionary” in South Korea. At 25, I had very little planned for my life, but I wanted to serve God. First of all, I had so much college debt that I couldn’t imagine ever living a normal life. Maybe that was for people with richer parents. For me, just getting a degree was enough. Second, I started to think that maybe married life wasn’t for me. Maybe not being attracted to women could help me focus my life just in serving God. I’d have to do something about my Internet habits, though. Finally, what could be after Korea? I could pay off my loans quickly and go to a place in the world that had an even lower percentage of Christians. I had gotten my hands on a book of missions where you could learn about each county’s specific needs. If I was single and unattached, I could take greater risks. “You’re crazy,” Jay said one night. A year before I worked for the C. Institute, Jay worked there. I met him through church and we were hanging out one night in his apartment, watching a movie. “God certainly doesn’t want you to be alone. Sure, there are some people, but I think that’s more an exception for people with personality disorders. Believe me, you’re going to find a girlfriend here, and you’re going to forget all about this.” 

    Read the lyrics on Genius. 

  • "cardigan" by Taylor Swift, Wednesday, September 21, 2022

    Folklore is an album without a radio single, according to Taylor Swift. However, the music industry, even with its changes in practices over the last decade and over the course of the pandemic, is still the music industry. And when one of the biggest pop stars releases an album, there better be a single to release. But what song? There was a lot of great music released and produced during lockdown. Charlie XCX, Lady Gaga, and The Weeknd had us dancing in our underwear in the living room with our old cereal bowls stacked up on the arm table (did I just confess something?). Travis Barker produced a shit-ton of music, changing rap into rock. There were a ton of lockdown concerts. For Taylor Swift, lockdown was all about reinventing herself by going back to the basics. 


    CHASE TWO GIRLS, LOSE THE ONE. Like when Stephen Christian at a Cornerstone set jokingly called “Like Steps in a Dance” was the “radio hit” from Anchor & Braille‘s Felt, an album that didn’t nor wasn’t intended to impact radio, Taylor Swift’s folklore was not intended to be a big radio hit. This is partially not true because Swift released “cardigan” as the album’s lead single and filmed a music video. Quickly “cardigan” came to represent the album. However, other songs were also released as singles, including “exile” and “betty,” the latter which charted on Country radio. Swift pays homage to the genre that brought her to popularity on even her poppiest albums by sending a ballad, even if the new Taylor doesn’t twang. But on a record so full of storytelling and acoustic hooks, “cardigan” may or may not seem like the obvious choice for a lead single other than the fact that it’s the heart of what the album does: Swift plucking at an acoustic guitar, embracing storytelling, and loving the change of seasons, in this case summer (“august”) to fall. As the name suggests, “cardigan” is a chilly song, the old sweatshirt you put back on in the nipping mornings as the school year starts. Last month we talked about the song “august” being a third of the “high school love triangle” trilogy, and “cardigan” is another part of it, imagining the romance between Betty and James. 

    VINTAGE TEE. Folklore in someways is the most Taylor Swift record and the least Taylor Swift record. Sitting at home in quarantine gifted Swift with the time needed to tell stories that she wanted to tell. Digging deep into the dusty old stories she heard growing up, Swift crafts stories based on a grain of truth but that have became much bigger than their subjects. Musically, the album seems to be inspired by classic rock, folk, and country–good old music so distant from who Taylor became on Reputation and Lover but connected to when Swift wrote her music on Fearless and Speak Now. Unlike any Taylor Swift album before folklore has the fewest songs personally about Swift whether genuinely like Red‘s “All Too Well” or in jest such as “Blank Space” on 1989, which pokes fun at the rumors of Swift’s dating life. Only “the invisible string,” track 11, diarizes in a normal Taylor Swift fashion, laughing off her early ideas about how love is formed. Still, this is not to say that there are no Taylor Swift ideas in the non-Taylor Swift narrated songs. For example Swift talks about growing up and becoming politically active in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana, and it seems to mirror the line in today’s song: “When you are young, they assume you know nothing.” So is “cardigan” the right lead single for the album? It’s slow and a little bit cold, yet it gives a preview of what folklore is: fall encompassed in a record. It wasn’t the catchiest song for me–that goes to “exile”–but “cardigan” stands out as a musical moment, one of the leaves fallen from a colorful maple. It’s not the prettiest leaf, not the ugliest, but taken by itself, “cardigan” represents a part of the whole work in a way that none of the other standout tracks can.

  • “다시 만난 세계” (Into the New World) by Girls’ Generation (소년 시대 SNSD), Tuesday, September 20, 2022 (updated repost)

    Composed by Kenzie, the professional name for SM Entertainment‘s songwriter Kim Yeon-jeong, the debut single “Into the New World” by what would become one of the biggest K-pop groups, Girls’ Generation, set the tone for a ten-year career of fun, bubble-gummy, uplifting songs. Composed of nine young women all born between 1989 and 1991,  Girls’ Generation has been been called “the Nation’s Girl Group,” in South Korea due to their popularity between 2007-2017. Beginning with a sample of Don Henley‘s 1984 classic “The Boys of Summer,” (covered last August by The Ataris), “Into the New World” builds on the nostalgic piano and synth sample. Rather than calling back with longing for the past, this song propels listeners forward into the future.

    I LEAVE BEHIND THIS WORLD’S UNENDING SADNESS. I’ve been pretty critical of K-pop in the past for being a-political. I used to think that music in America was too political, especially when I was a Republican teenager (cringe). I was annoyed when Coldplay’s Chris Martin said at the 2004 Grammy‘s “May John Kerry be your president someday.” Of course there were also right-wing musicians, too, but being found have Republican tendencies could end a rock band’s career in some cases. In South Korea, because the government subsidizes the industry, idol groups are to be politically neutral. There are very few songs that are overt protest songs which can be found in rock and pop and even country in America. However, today’s song, with its hopeful message of stepping into the unknown future, has become a famous protest song in South Korea, starting in 2015, when students led a peaceful protest against Ewha University in Seoul. Both Tiffany and Yuri of SNSD expressed their appreciation to their fans for using the song to rally for change. Tiffany said, “Right now is the generation for feminists, and it’s an era where messages of women empowering other women are important. I feel like our song played that role, so my heart was happy.” A year later, the song was sung at protest rallies against President Park Geun-Hye. The massive protests against the leader accused of corruption had the people singing a song of hope, demanding more from their leaders. Fans also sang the song on April 11, 2019, when criminalization of abortion was recognized as unconstitutional in South Korea. Finally, in 2020, the song was sung in anti-governmental protests in Thailand, fans translating the message of the song to spread hope in Thailand. With the globalization of K-pop–the ripples in East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America–it seems inevitable that some songs will be used in protest. 

    LOOKING INTO YOUR EYES, NO WORDS ARE NEEDED. I don’t think that “Into the New World” credits its sampling of “The Boys of Summer,” as it’s never mentioned in most sources. Last September, I talked about how Olivia Rodrigo was inspired by “Misery Business” and eventually gave writing credit to Haley Williams and Josh Farro. Musicians get into trouble all the time for borrowing too heavily from their sources. There are several video compilations of similar sounding songs. Whether it’s Sam Smith listening to Tom Petty or Lana Del Rey listening to Radiohead, we can hear musical similarities if we keep our ears open. I could make a list of songs that I think sound the same or songs that I’ve mashed up, even disguised as church songs when I played for church (“He Is Exalted” and the guitar from “Don’t Stop Believing“). Some groups like The Verve had their career paralyzed by the litigious Rolling Stones‘ manager. And as much fun as it would be to make a playlist of similar sounding songs or funny mash-ups like “Creep but It’s All I Want for Christmas” it seems like the project could get out of control. There’s a reason why I only pick one song a day. Tom Petty said it best when he decided not to sue Red Hot Chili Peppers for the similarity between his song “Dani California” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance“: “A lot of rock & roll sounds alike.” And that similarity can draw parallels in theme in listeners minds. “Into the New World” and “The Boys of Summer” may build off of the same arpeggio, but one looks back without any hope for the future, the other uses the past to build a brighter future.


  • "나만 그래" (Am I the Only One?) by SF9, Monday, September 2022 (Partial Repost)

     

    Sensational Feeling 9, better known by the acronym SF9, debuted in 2016. Before their debut, the group performed in Japan with 11 members, but ultimately only 9 members would make the final cut when they released their Feeling Sensation single. The group enjoyed modest success in Korea and toured Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S. In January 2020, they released their first full-length studio album, titled First Collection.

    This record has been the band’s most successful release, shattering their previous record sales and chart placements. The group also garnered award nominations. 

    THE DAY IS QUITE LONG. EVEN WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES, IT’S ALWAYS THE SAME DAY.  Not to be confused with what Todd in the Shadows deemed 2021’s worst song of the year, the racist single by former Staind lead singer-turned outlaw Country singer Aaron Lewis, “Am I the Only One,” is the second track on SF9’s First Collection. The song wasn’t a single, but its accessible smooth harmonies, minor key, and edgy rap parts, give the song an early ’00s feel, making the song hard to place with its 2020 release. Whether released in 2002 or 2020, the theme of pining over a lost love will be relevant forever. This pinning looks different at different ages in our lives, though. It feels like the end of the world at 13 when a cross country move makes a relationship untenable. Or maybe it’s a crush on someone and the feelings aren’t reciprocated. Maybe it’s illogical because the crush is much older and immoral if the other person reciprocated. At an older age, it’s two people who want different things. Sometimes it’s ending a longterm, mature relationship that you tried to make work by sacrificing who you are and your life’s goals, only to find that you don’t like the person you’ve become.

    I PRAY THESE FEELINGS OF LONGING TURN INTO HATE. But today I heard a rather disturbing story about an acquaintance who has been involved in a toxic, controlling relationship. Without sharing too many details, it’s a story about being controlled by a partner who has cut him off from friends and family, all because he thought he found the one. And what does the one look like in one’s early 20s when you’ve been sold this idolatrous idea that somehow sex is the most fragile thing and that if you slip up you will most certainly be broken forever and that all your future relationships will be cursed? As I was listening to this crazy love sick story, I thought about my own experiences, how in my late 20s I decided that I was going to forsake all of my friends’ advice and pursue sex first. I thought about how guilt and my beliefs eventually forced their way back into my life from time to time. I thought about how dangerous it could have been going completely solo into the realm of Internet dating. And I thought about how lucky I was to have found love. Certainly there are some parallels between my gay dating experience and a kid who has fallen in love with the wrong girl, how sex changed him in a very negative way. But who created this perfect storm of a situation?



  • “About Damn Time" by Lizzo, Sunday, September 18, 2022

    Melissa Viviane Jefferson, better known by her stage name, Lizzo, released her disco-infused fourth LP this year titled Special. The album was a smash hit, debuting at number two on Billboard‘s top 200, and the album’s lead single, “About Damn Time,” topping the single’s charts for two weeks. Lizzo began her career performing and recording Hip-Hop independently in the Minneapolis scene. In 2016, she released a major-label debut EP, titled Coconut Oil and a 2019 LP Cuz I Love You. But it was her 2016 hit, “Truth Hurts” that took the singer to the top of the charts for the first time. 
    I BEEN SO DOWN AND UNDER PRESSURE. With the Apple Music version of Special, Lizzo recorded a message for her fans, a voice track titled “A Very Special Message from Lizzo.” In this 99-second track, Lizzo explains why she hasn’t released an album since 2019. The singer certainly wasn’t cutting corners, as she wrote hundreds of songs over the span of three years. She explains that she wanted the record to be perfect in the way that she envisioned it. Furthermore, she explains the meaning of the title. To Lizzo, Special means first learning to love yourself, shutting out all of the negativity from the world. She claims that once you “treat yourself the way that you deserve to be treated, and then treat somebody else with the same love and respect[,] that expands . . . and that can save a life.” Love for oneself, in Lizzo’s case, is partly in accepting her body type. Body positivity has been a theme throughout the singer’s career, from posing nude on the cover of Cuz I Love You to referring to herself as thick (sometimes thicc). Like many other female rappers, Lizzo reclaims the word bitch, repurposing it to describe a sexy lady who is completely in control of herself. Furthermore, Lizzo smashes homophobia by identifying as “mostly straight,” but admitting “Everybody’s Gay.” To this her LGBTQ+ fans identify themselves as “Lizzbians.” “About Damn Time,” though, is a musical anxiolytic, an anthem of self-love when you need it the most.
    TURN UP THE MUSIC, TURN DOWN THE LIGHTS. On a recent episode on Into It podcast, Switched On Pop‘s Charlie Harding and Reanna Cruz joined Sam Sanders to talk about their picks for 2022’s “Song of the Summer.” Lizzo’s smash hit “About Damn Time” was considered among the likes of Beyoncé‘s “Break My Soul,” Harry Style‘s “As It Was,” and Kate Bush‘s “Running Up that Hill” (A Deal with God).” While Kate Bush’s “Running Up that Hill” and Bad Bunny‘s entire album Un Verano Sin Ti won as a tie, the hosts talked about how “About Damn Time” pays homage to Queen and David Bowie’s 1981 hit “Under Pressure” and to other songs of the past to make it sound “manufactured” yet “delicious” in the same way that fast food is delicious. Like Doja Cat, Lizzo’s 2022 sound declares that the ’70s are back, baby. MTV also considered “About Damn Time” as the song of the summer, but lost to Jack Harlow‘s “First Class.” “About Damn Time” is the surprisingly the first song that topped the Hot 100 with the word damn in its title, and the mild profanity is almost a throwback to the ’70s when a title like “About Damn Time” would be a bit more scandalous. And as the last vestiges of the summer, the Indian Summer pool party or barbecue, we can remember the happy memories of this summer and look forward to summer ’22. Lizzo’s hit will certain still be around as we catch more UVB rays.

  • “Time Lapse” by Taeyeon, Saturday, September 17, 2022 (Partial Repost)

    Bright, happy music is what you could describe Taeyeon‘s 2015 debut EP, I. The label also fits for her debut studio album, 2017’s My Voice. However, amid the happy, soaring melodies, there is a twinge of wistful nostalgia in the lyrics. Songs like the lead single “Fine” and the standout track “Time Lapse,” give the Girls’ Generation singer a mature sound. Taeyeon’s solo career is more about ballads, but the occasional electro-pop song sounds more grown up than her bubblegum pop days in the once biggest K-pop girl group.


    BIRTHDAYS HAVE PASSED SEVERAL TIMES. The title of Taeyeon’s debut album, My Voice,  alludes to her relationship with her standout feature. In middle school, Taeyeon’s principal encouraged the young singer to pursue her talents and convinced her parents to invest in their daughter’s talents. This investment came to mean a Sunday drive from Jeonju to Seoul, a 2-and-a-half-hour drive each direction, for Taeyeon to study vocal lessons with famed vocal coach Jeong Soon-won, better known as The One from the late ’90s boy band Space A. “Time Lapse” was composed by Nell‘s lead singer, Kim Jong-wan for the soprano singer, but “Time Lapse” wasn’t the only collaboration between one of Korea’s most famous pop stars and one of Korea’s most famous pop rock groups. Taeyeon also released a cover of Nell’s “Time Spent Walking Through Memories,” one of the band’s biggest hits, as a bonus track on the My Voice deluxe edition. The late-’90s pop-rock sound of “Time Lapse” is part of Nell’s signature sound also present in Kim Sung-kyu‘s “Shine,” which I talked about earlier this month.

    TEARS WELL UP WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES. September has certainly been busy. It’s back to school and starting up other projects. Coworkers have gotten sick with Covid, making us who are well pick up the slack. And I’ve been lazy; rather than coming home energetically ready to write my blog, I’ve thought about what’s the easiest way I could maintain my goal of posting every day. So many of my posts this month have been reposts from last year. Last year when I was writing a new post every day, I had different goals. I get a little discouraged when I see so many reposts in my feed, but I tell myself that they have been edited, and most are not complete reposts. But there is something more to this reposting. Fall makes me nostalgic. There’s something about the mostly cooler temperatures and the occasional last grasps of summer in September that make ’90s-sounding songs like today’s track feel right. So, I’m not going to apologize for the reposts, but shamelessly keep it up as long as it feels natural. I have plans to write new posts and even have a few drafts waiting to be published. September is a kind of mid-season break. The second half is coming soon. Until then, let’s nostalgically enjoy the beginning of Fall!